Well, today is my birthday. And, a number of family members pooled in together to get me a Kindle 2. Of course, it was my job to do the ordering and I am stingy (I run a website focused on free resources for goodness sake!). So, I checked out the refurbished model of the Kindle, which was $40 cheaper.

I have always had very good experiences with refurbished products when I have bought them from major sellers. My first iPod Nano was refurbished. I got it from Apple at a pretty big discount and it still looks to have a lot of life in it. My second Apple laptop was refurbished. It ran perfectly and lasted way longer than it should have for what I put it through (a lot of video stuff that I don’t think it was really equipped for). So, I thought I would give the refurbished Kindle a shot since it was from Amazon and not a third party.

However, I have had some friends who have had bad experiences with refurbished products. That led me to write this brief little review of my experience so far in case there are those of you who would like a Kindle at a $40 discount but are afraid of refurbished products.

In terms of appearance, had I not known that the product was refurbished I never would have guessed it. The casing is in pristine condition.

It charged properly in less than three hours as the user guide said that it would.

Wireless is working properly and downloads are going smoothly (I had gotten some Kindle books for the Kindle App on my iTouch).

The books are functioning properly (if that is even the proper way to say that). I can read them with no problems with the controls.

That is about all I can say so far since I haven’t had a chance to use it very much (It came late yesterday evening – about when getting my girls to sleep. Then I fell asleep in the bed with my 5 year old). At this point, I can see no reason why not to recommend the refurbished Kindle if you are in the market for one. If anything does go wrong, I’ll be sure to post about it, but it is smooth sailing right now. For now, if you’re interested you can check it out HERE.